Martin MacBlain

“Where were you, where were you, where were you when we were great…?” October 30, 2020 - I’m actually asking this as a genuine question rather than attempting to ignite our readers into a chanting frenzy. The Second Coming by Kevin Baldwin. If you haven’t read it, do so. A fantastic read, well written, and a lovely match-by-match insight into the return of Mike Walker. I’m on… ...
As the saying goes… ‘Time for some new heroes’ August 28, 2020 - ‘Sorry, but I must have missed your tenure as England manager.’ Indubitably, the Rodent’s most infamous quote. Yet it was a rather different quote of his that struck me. It’s relevance still resonates today. ‘The only difference is that it won’t be in a Norwich shirt, but I’ve had a… ...
So, we’ve already had a few ins, but who’s on their way out of Carrow Road? August 5, 2020 - "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results." - Albert Einstein. Well that quote now feels rather apt. I’ve kept my powder deliberately dry over the re-start, but having watched the same smorgasbord being served up game after game I decided on the theme for… ...
Tempus Fugit – But there are worse things than sharing a birthday with Norwich City June 17, 2020 - As I sit and pen this on the eve of my 40th birthday, a multitude of emotions are swirling around my inner conscience. Do I feel that old? Am I now in mid-life? Is the inevitable getting closer. It really is a whirlwind. The reality, if you remove numbers, is… ...
Thatcher and our Delia may be poles apart politically, but they’ll agree on one thing… May 13, 2020 - The lady’s not for turning Readers of a certain vintage will absorb that phrase and either shudder or raise a wistful smile. It depends on your politics. For those unaware of the phrase, it relates to Thatcher’s refusal in 1980 to make a u-turn on her economic policy, despite rising… ...
Not the greatest, not even the best, but let’s be having your ‘favourite’ Norwich City XI April 17, 2020 - They locked us down. A scenario I never thought I’d see, certainly in my lifetime. As I sit and pen this article I find myself gazing out over the Severn Estuary and count myself very fortunate to live where I do. We live in Portishead and have a 180-degree panoramic… ...
Who remembers their very first game? The buzz of the crowd & ‘the thrill of the grass’ April 9, 2020 - ‘The thrill of the grass’. Now if anyone can guess the literary reference; book and author - sans google - I’ll be mightily impressed. In these dystopian days of social distancing and self-isolation, terms I had never heard until a few weeks ago, I’ve been trying to think of a few articles… ...
What’s in a season? And what was your favourite ever Norwich City campaign? March 26, 2020 - Do you remember that scene in the Matrix, where Neo becomes ‘self-aware’...? For my football awakening, that was the summer of 1993. Sure, I liked football, used to have a kick around, emulated Gazza, Platt and Lineker during Italia ‘90, but I didn’t have a team. So my Norwich FC… ...
Heard the one about Pickles, the Jules Rimet & one of the few Englishman to lift it? February 4, 2020 - Banks, Stiles, Charlton, Hurst and of course, Peters. Names that roll off the tongue as effortlessly as if they were still playing today. And it’s easy to see why. Because they are amongst a select group of Englishmen to have ever lifted the World Cup. But it’s a lesser-known Englishman… ...
Gemutlichkeit, zeitgeist or simply a case of schadenfreude? Which #NCFC fan are you? January 28, 2020 - Having been in receipt of a German A level for 20 years (and sadly hardly ever using it) you come to realise that the Germans have a word for almost anything and some of these words have started to find their way into our vocabulary. Particularly if your beloved football… ...

Skip links

Main navigation